Finding the Balance
by ataraxyy
Summary: There could only be one plausible reason that Travis couldn't get Katie out of his head. She was obviously brainwashing his subconscious .:Collection of Tratie drabbles:.  .:ratings may change:.  .:accepting prompts:.


******Disclaimer: **I don't own the Percy Jackson Series

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_**.** R__**e**__ckl_**e**_ss.r_**io**_t.r_**e**_l_**i**_sh.r_**e**_nd_**e**_rs.m_**e**_._**a**_.r_**e**_b_**e**_l—_

"I don't think we should be here..."

Travis could only shrug for the umpteenth time that day at her observation. _Well dah?_ It wasn't like she _had_ to come anyway.

"_Travis_."

Oh, _now_ she was hissing at him.

"_What_?" Travis parroted as he turned around and frowned indigently at her. Katie had a worried look on her face and her hand constantly reached up and twisted itself with her hair.

"I... uh- Is this even allowed?"

Travis' snorted and turned back around, continuing his journey; with or without his lady companion.

"_Travi_s!"

"You don't get very tired of my name do you Gardner?"

"Shut up. Are you _absolutely—positively—completely—utterly—sure, _that _no one_ will notice?"

"Katie, I'm _confidently absolutely—positively—completely—utterly—sure, _that no one will notice that we're gone."

Katie huffed and nodded her hands firmly by her sides as they continued walking towards the boundaries of Camp Half-Blood.

"I mean, Connor and I go downtown _all_ the time. No one notices that we're gone."

Katie snorted.

"If that's what you're basing our success rate on – we are most defiantly screwed."

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_**. **P_**o**_k_**e**._m_**e**.**i**_n_._th_**e**.**e**_y_**e**._b_**e**_c_**au**_s_**e**._i.l_**o**_v_**e**._y_**ou**._bl_**ue**—

"Oh my gosh, _Travis!_"

By now, Travis was ready to send a celestial bronze dagger between the eyes of the next person that even _thought _about saying his name.

That's why no one dared to even _think_ _about_ _thinking_ _about_ saying his name to him when they felt the killing aura coming off of him as he walked past pedestrians.

And if that wasn't enough, it was the grim scowl found on his face.

Travis Stoll was pissed off and _man_ was he _not_ afraid to show it.

"Travis? Are you _listening _to me? Tra-vis!"

He never thought that a girl screaming his name could ever be a turn off.

He was dead wrong.

"_What do you want now?_"

Travis Stoll was _absolutely—positively—completely seething _and Katie, being as obnoxious and intolerable as she is, ignoring his obvious distress, sidled up to his side and grabbed his arm. Waving her free arm with an exasperated finesse and dragging him in some vague direction that was populated with little children.

_Hordes _of little, young children.

Whatever pissed off emotion he was feeling before – _completely _out the window.

"Uh, Katie... Where are we-"

"_Look!_"

So he did what he was told, like the good little demigod he is. So, according to Travis' observations, he was situated in the _biggest_ Ice cream parlour he had _ever_ laid his pure and ever-so-innocent eyes upon.

"Holy shi-"

"Can we? _Please~!_"

Placing hands on her curved hips and sticking out her newly found ass to the side. Round, shining green eyes staring at him _longingly _and plump luscious lips pouting. Or something like that.

_Damn._

"Come on then. Don't get used to this. You hear?"

Ignored. Katie skipped away tugging a reluctant Travis behind him.

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_**. **__Cr_**i**_sp__.s_**ea**_.l__**e**_tt_**u**_c_**e**_._gr_**ee**_n—_

"How about _'Fire truck red fiasco'?_"

"That doesn't even specify a flavour! For all we know, this guy could be drugging little children with his persuasive names!"

Katie slapped her hand to her forehead; muttering something along the lines of 'why do I even bother' and 'worse than my mother' whilst shaking her head in a manner that she might've been _frustrated _with him?

Absolutely shameful on her part.

"I'll take one scoop of the _'__I like lemon drops because they're absolutely delectable and delicious yellow__'._"

"Sure thing miss."

Blink.

Once, twice.

Frown.

An _extremely _annoyed sigh escaped from his lips, while the Son of Hermes stuck a handful of money on the counter next to the cashier.

"Here." Travis muttered, turning around to go find a table.

"Thank you, Travis." Katie grinned, hugging him by his side.

Travis didn't want to push her too hard—

(with that obvious god-like strength)

—so instead of prying her off, he just slowly poked her by the shoulder until he was saved by the ice cream man.

_Thank you. _He silently praised the man, who had handed her the ice cream.

Okay. Well, he was praising him, _until_ that old man's fingers brushed against Katie's hand.

In a petulant manner, Travis scowled and grabbed Katie's other hand leading her to the furthest table. "Hurry up." Travis demanded, stopping at the table and crossing his arms.

"Are you seriously going to stand there and watch me eat?" Katie asked, bemused.

"Hm." Travis reverted back to his sedate manner and chose not to bother with an actual (rhetorical) answer.

Her tongue slipped out and took a slow lick of her ice cream.

"Maybe I'll just take forever, so stop staring that blatantly at me." Katie hissed, the hand that wasn't holding the ice cream cone pointed to the chair opposite of her.

Travis ignored her.

Like hell he was going to sit there if she told him.

"Fine." Katie shrugged, "Stand up and get tired for all I care."

Witch.

His eyes lingered on her delicacy for a second before Travis busied himself with trying and retying his shoelace

"Did you want some? You know, I don't know why you didn't get some for yourself. It's really quite refreshing."

"I don't like ice cream."

"Really? It's good for the soul you know."

Travis scoffed. What did she know? All he needed was to steal a few bits and pieces from the Electronic Superstore. A job that would've taken half _tops_ had turned into... a.. what was this?

A girl and a guy.

At an ice cream parlour.

Oh dear gods.

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**. **sl_**i**_c_**e**_s._**o**_f.**o**_r_**a**_ng_**e**_.s_**u**_ns_**e**_t.c_**o**_l_**ou**_r_**e**_d__.ch_**ee**_s_**e**_.n_**i**_bl_**e**_ts—_

"It shows with that personality of yours." Katie sneered, "We all know you need a soul anyways, so _eat it_."

Travis let out a sarcastic chuckle to annoy her, but was deterred when more '_I like lemon drops because they're absolutely delectable and delicious yellow_' flavoured ice cream seeped between his clenched teeth. Travis' hand shot out and grabbed the ice cream from her, holding it out of her reach, Travis then followed by grabbing the closest napkin and futilely spat the sour flavour out.

Little success.

Standing up, the Stoll began walking to the trash can.

Katie gasped, "NO!"

"Oh, yes." Travis growled in pure sadism.

"Travis!" Katie cried, "I'm sorry—DON'T—NO!"

The boy was inching closer to the red topped trash can, a green eyed girl lunging at him.

Yellow flew everywhere.

Travis didn't know whether he wanted to know what it was.

Katie's weight was on top of his body, pressing her weight down on the Stoll. "YOU SUCK!" Katie screamed, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Her hands trembled and her breathing stopped, the ice cream cone was crumbled and splattered all over the ground, on her, and on the boy.

"_Shut. Up_." Travis mustered through his tightening teeth, his jaw clenching in pure annoyance.

What had he done to deserve this?

_He bought her ice cream._

_He put up with her day to day._

"Travis?" Katie breathed into his blue—and smeared yellow, courtesy a la Katie—shirt.

_He (unwillingly) comforted her fall._

She punched his chest, "YOU STUPID, PETTY—"

_He let her call him PETTY._

Travis' lips captured hers.

Because, dammit, she _owed _him.

"_Excuse me._" A voice hissed from above, "Will you please continue this...THIS—_ehem_—elsewhere?"

Katie's lips escaped from Travis' for the shortest moment, ready to reply; however, the Stoll growled and reclaimed them nanoseconds later.

"This is a _child's _place!" The cashier hissed, pointing at several kids who were waiting in line behind the counter, horrified with their mouths agape.

The Stoll's eyes raised the slightest to meet with the cashier's hazel ones, a grunt and dour expression on his face.

"Whatever old man."

Slowly, Travis lifted Katie up and he followed.

Turning to the kids, who were now blatantly staring at him, wide-eyed. The Stoll gave the queerest expression and soon enough, it turned dour.

"Keep staring, I _dare y_ou." Travis hissed.

Katie gaped and smacked the boy on the top of his head, "Travis!"

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**. **_Bl_**i**_n_d.y_**ou**_r._**e**__x.t_**o**._d_**ea**_th.p_**i**_nk—_

It was very silent on the way home. Travis tried to ignore the fact that he _never_ got his Electronic supplies he needed and that Katie had never said a word for, more than ten minutes, which was disturbing enough. But by the time they _did_ reach Camp Half-Blood, they were greeted by an inquisitive group of nosy Demigods. And a centaur. _Just_ what he needed.

"Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner."

This wasn't any good.

"You do realise that you must atone for your actions. I'm banishing you from all the grounds within a thirty metre distance from the border."

Where was he going to sleep tonight?

"How'd you notice?"

Connor piped up, his usual cheery self.

"Well, firstly, there was a lack of people screaming bloody murder at one another, _and_ there were no earsplitting screeching hairless Aphrodite girls this morning."

"Ah. I see."

Chiron stomped a hoof to regain some of his composure.

"As for all you, return to your cabins without another word."

And Travis, being the pure, and ever-so-innocent demigod he is, complied with the old guy. Because, hell. He didn't have a choice in the matter really. So, he tottered along towards his cabin, a smug smirk painted on his face.

_"Travis!"_

Oh Hades.

"Katie?"

"_Over here_!"

Travis peered between the trees and found Katie wearing a devilish grin and green eyes sparkling with mischief. Oh my. What was she thinking of?

"Same time tommorrow?"

"Rebellious aren't we?"

"Stop it. Are you coming or what?" She smirked and turned around, walking toward the group of Demeter children and her cabin. "It'll be on me next time."

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**PROMPTS: **_'Hordes _of little, young children_'; 'biggest _Ice cream parlour_' _and "How about _'Fire truck red fiasco'?_"

(THANK YOU FOR YOUR PROMPTS! Review or PM me your prompts please ;) x)

xx my_heart_is_your_umbrella xx


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